What are you actually trying to achieve in your career, and does your daily work move you towards it? This reflection applies Stephen Covey’s second habit to medicine, exploring personal and team mission statements, competing priorities and leadership guided by principles.
Stephen Covey and medical leadership part 2: Begin with the end in mind Read More
A patient with ongoing chest pain has an ECG that does not fit a familiar STEMI pattern. This educational case from 2014 asks how the clinical history and shape of the ST segments should influence the next decision, before revealing the angiographic findings and outcome.
Cardiology Case 04: An unusual ECG Read More
Does improving an acid–base measurement demonstrate that a resuscitation fluid is better for patients? This 2014 journal club examines a small trial comparing Plasma-Lyte with saline in major trauma, exploring surrogate outcomes, fluid volumes and why the findings could not establish a benefit in patient-centred outcomes.
JC: Plasma-lyte or Saline in Trauma? St. Emlyn’s Read More
The opening instalment of a medical leadership series draws on Stephen Covey’s advice to be proactive. It explores focusing effort on what we can influence, responding to difficult situations according to our values and taking responsibility for how we work with patients and colleagues.
Leadership pearls from Stephen Covey part 1: Be proactive Read More
Rick Body introduces the original Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes decision rule in this 2014 research report. He explains its derivation and external validation, how clinical features and biomarkers contribute to risk assessment, and the questions that still needed answering before routine use.
The MACS Rule: Immediate ‘rule in’ and ‘rule out’ for suspected cardiac chest pain Read More
Can ‘first, do no harm’ describe clinical practice when every useful intervention carries some risk? The third instalment of this ethics series explores benefit, harm and utilitarian reasoning, asking how clinicians can pursue a patient’s interests while respecting moral limits.
Why can acute dystonia be mistaken for anaphylaxis, anxiety or neurological disease? This 2014 clinical review explores varied presentations, medication-related causes and diagnostic anchoring, alongside treatment considerations and the importance of reconsidering the diagnosis when the picture does not fit.
Dystonia in the Emergency Department. St Emlyn’s Read More
What can a conference built around social media offer a clinical researcher? Reflecting on SMACC Gold in 2014, Rick Body argues that accessible presentation, open education and online discussion can help research reach practising clinicians and make its findings useful beyond the journal page.
SMACC Gold: All Social Media, No Science? Read More
